Delhi HC refuses Jasir Bilal Wani's urgent plea for lawyer meeting at NIA HQ during Red Fort blast remand; remands to trial court for Saturday hearing due to lack of formal rejection order
Wani, arrested Nov 17 as LeT-linked co-conspirator for drone/rocket aid in Nov 10 blast killing 15; NIA cites deleted phone data with terror training and Masood Azhar speeches
Justice Sharma stresses no "exceptional procedure" for oral claims; "cannot alter process for one individual," upholding norms while allowing fresh trial court approach
Delhi HC Rejects Red Fort Blast Accused's Plea For Lawyer Meeting
Wani, a 28-year-old resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested by the NIA on November 17 in Srinagar as an alleged "active co-conspirator" of suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi.
Summary
The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea by Jasir Bilal Wani, a co-accused in the deadly Red Fort car blast case, seeking permission to meet his lawyer at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters during his custodial remand. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, hearing the urgent petition, emphasized that the court cannot create exceptional procedures without evidence of a formal rejection by the trial court, remanding the matter back for adjudication on Saturday.
Wani, a 28-year-old resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested by the NIA on November 17 in Srinagar as an alleged "active co-conspirator" of suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi. The November 10, 2025, blast at Delhi's iconic Red Fort involved a car laden with explosives, killing 15 people and injuring dozens in what investigators described as a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-inspired terror plot. NIA alleges Wani provided technical support, including drone modifications and rocket assembly, based on deleted phone data revealing terror training videos and bomb-making instructions linked to LeT chief Masood Azhar.
Wani's counsel, Kaustubh Chaturvedi, argued that a lawyer was denied access at NIA HQ without a court order and that the trial court orally rejected their subsequent application for a "legal mulaqat" (meeting) on November 18, when Wani was remanded to 10 days' NIA custody. The NIA opposed, contending Wani hadn't exhausted all remedies and that oral claims alone couldn't justify bypassing norms.
"If someone simply says orally that their plea was rejected, everyone will do the same. There is a process we adhere to, and it cannot be altered for one individual," Justice Sharma observed, underscoring that Wani "cannot be treated as a special person." The court granted liberty to approach the Sessions Judge on November 22 for a reasoned decision, balancing the accused's rights with investigative integrity amid heightened security in the high-profile case
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